Financial Advisory & Feasibility Analysis

Urban One has significant experience authoring reports and documents focusing on financial, investment, and development feasibility for a variety of clients. As developers that focus on infill and redevelopment opportunities, we understand how and when public or private entities can leverage its resources to make projects happen. We have built, owned, operated, and sold retail, hotel, office, commercial, and industrial buildings in the past, and are positioned to offer consulting advice that is timely, accurate, and informed by on-the-ground knowledge of the redevelopment process.

Project Feasibility Analysis

Urban One has developed and analyzed numerous project feasibility studies ranging in scope from single-family homes to high-rise mixed-use towers. Our analysis has played a critical role in advancing and repositioning projects in the current economic and lending climate. As a firm with a diverse background, we have expertise in both parcel specific feasibility studies as well as area-wide impact studies covering thousands of parcels and entire neighborhoods.

Survey and Parcel-based Analysis:

Urban One has conducted numerous parcel-based reports focusing on economic and development potential, with key factors including:

TIF/City Revenues: we have advanced financial modeling skills and are capable of developing parcel specific models to detail how TIF and City revenues would be impacted by a proposed development project.

Determination of Project Viability: we can provide incisive guidance to determine what level of public and private resources would be needed to make a range of projects viable – from single family homes to public infrastructure, or high-rise towers to parks – based on local conditions, City objectives, and other factors.

Project Documentation: we understand the metrics and valuation techniques behind the economic impacts of a specific project on its surrounding area and can conduct both financial and on-the-ground evaluations to document and record conditions within existing and future project areas.

One-on-one outreach to property ownersto convey how specific redevelopment initiatives can help improve their businesses, development projects, and investments in the long-term. Our outreach efforts are, moreover, informed by our background in real estate development and a solid reputation for redeveloping several iconic buildings. This allows us to immediately establish a working relationship with most private businesses and individuals, as we understand how difficult it can be operate a small business or find enough resources to execute a project. Most firms lack this perspective and can’t generate support within the development community because they’re unable to converse in the language of real estate development, finances, and economics. Urban One bridges the gap between a diverse set of mediums and disciplines.

Capable of leading an entitlement team to permit a wide variety of projects, with our specialty focusing on urban infill development

Large Scale Analysis:

Urban One has conducted large-scale feasibility studies examining thousands of parcels. Our most recent project has been to undertake a large-scale economic report comparing Downtown Los Angeles to both Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA, to demonstrate how streetcar projects play a major role in generating and attracting development. This work encompassed developing, filtering, and applying complex formulas to data sets designed to reveal how properties near transit performed at specific time intervals.

As this analysis is on-going, we are further developing a methodology to determine how transit proximity influenced the built environment through specific variables, such as: assessed property values; FAR ratios (used v. unused); rental, lease, and stabilized occupancy rates; acquisition/sale rates; and other indicators of financial performance. This work also included on-the-ground interaction with stakeholders in Portland andSeattle to gauge how companies, communities, and city governments were impacted by the streetcar system. Qualitative one-on-one stakeholder interviews are being interpreted alongside quantitative results.

Applying this work to L.A. has proven to be a challenge and has required Urban One to compile a database of over 6,000 parcels encompassing 90 million square feet of developed space. We are currently applying a similar set of variables to this land area to project how Downtown L.A. could be impacted by a streetcar system.

Excel / Financial Modeling

Urban One is highly adept at modeling with Excel and other proprietary software (i.e. Argus, etc.). Our modeling skills include, but are not limited to:

Format and Layout: Model structure and set up; tab integration; summary pages; assumption pages and main linkage tabs that flow through the model with minimal additional changes or audits